Suspect charged after deadly Vancouver stabbings

Vancouver: A 28-year-old suspect was charged with murder Sunday, a day after allegedly stabbing and killing one woman and wounding six others at a library in the Canadian city of Vancouver.

Yannick Bandaogo, who was arrested at the scene, is accused of carrying out the attack at the Lynn Valley library in which one woman in her late 20s died.

“His background, history in BC (British Columbia) and relationship to the victims, if any, is still being determined,” police said in a statement, adding he had undergone surgery for self-inflicted wounds.

National shock

The stabbings took place in the afternoon in a quiet, upscale neighborhood of the Pacific coast city, causing national shock in Canada.

The CTV network broadcast a video apparently showing the arrest of the suspect, who appeared to stab himself in the leg before collapsing and being detained by several police officers.

“We share the community’s grief and outrage,” said Superintendent Ghalib Bhayani of the North Vancouver police. “Lynn Valley Library is a peaceful place. A place where our community comes to learn and our children come to explore.”

from World,Europe,Asia,India,Pakistan,Philipines,Oceania,Americas,Africa Feed https://ift.tt/3rtJs4l

COVID-19: Mexico coronavirus deaths pass 200,000

Mexico City: Mexico on Thursday became the world’s third country to surpass 200,000 coronavirus deaths, following the United States and Brazil.

The nation’s COVID-19 fatality toll now stands at 200,211, the health ministry said in its daily update.

from World,Europe,Asia,India,Pakistan,Philipines,Oceania,Americas,Africa Feed https://ift.tt/3cqtUKg

Australian PM promotes women in cabinet reshuffle amid poll slump

Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison reshuffled his Cabinet on Monday as he sought to repair his standing following a series of damaging allegations about the mistreatment of female lawmakers and staff.

Morrison has struggled to placate public anger amid allegations of sexual abuse, discrimination against women and misconduct in parliament.

In a move designed to regain voter support, Morrison said he would now have a record seven female lawmakers in his Cabinet as he awarded promotions and additional remits to five women.

“I have always wanted to ensure there is a strong voice of women in my government, and there has been. But I think what we are announcing today has gone further than that,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra.

“I have very capable women operating in very important portfolios.” While promoting several female lawmakers, Morrison also moved two MPs who have been the subject of allegations. Both, however, remain in his Cabinet.

Linda Reynolds would leave the role of defence minister and would be replaced by Peter Dutton, previously home affairs minister.

Reynolds has been criticised for her handling of an allegation of rape by a member of her staff two years ago.

Rape allegation

Christian Porter will be replaced as attorney general and minister for industrial relations by Michaelia Cash, who was promoted from the role of minister for employment, skills and small business.

Porter is the subject of a historical rape allegation which he denies and is currently on mental health leave.

Police said on March 2 there was insufficient evidence to investigate the alleged rape as the accuser was no longer alive.

A Newspoll conducted for The Australian newspaper on Monday showed Morrison’s public support dropped seven points in two weeks to 55%, the lowest level in a year.

Morrison’s government also trails opposition Labor on a two-party preferred basis, where votes for minor parties are distributed, by 52-48. If the poll result was replicated at an election, Labor would win.

from World,Europe,Asia,India,Pakistan,Philipines,Oceania,Americas,Africa Feed https://ift.tt/3sxn0bI

Nepal’s schools close as air pollution hits alarming levels

Kathmandu: Nepal has ordered schools to close for four days after air pollution climbed to hazardous levels, forcing millions of students to stay home across the country.

Nepal, with a population of 30 million people, is located in the Himalayas between China and India, two of the world’s biggest polluters.

Air pollution is a chronic problem in the rapidly growing capital city of Kathmandu and an additional headache for the government that is struggling to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the weekend, pollution levels hit their highest in the capital since the government began keeping records in 2016, government official Shankar Paudel told Reuters.

Education ministry spokesman Deepak Sharma said about eight million students have been affected by the closures.

The 24-hour average level of PM2.5, fine particulate matter that can reach deep into the lungs, was 214 micrograms per cubic metre in the upscale area of Bhaisepati in Kathmandu on Sunday, Department of Environment data showed. That compares with the government’s standard level of 40 micrograms per cubic metre.

Air quality in the capital has deteriorated recently but average pollution readings were not available.

Dust from construction works, exhaust from old, poorly maintained vehicles and smoke from coal-burning brick kilns blend in a murky haze that hangs over the ancient city of four million people, raising the risk of cancer, stroke, asthma and high blood pressure, experts say.

“This also adds to the risk of COVID-19,” said Sher Bahadur Pun, a doctor at a tropical and infectious disease hospital in the capital.

Arjun Khadka, 65, who owns a grocery store in Kathmandu, said he experienced itching and burning sensations in the eyes and nose which could be due to pollution.

“I don’t remember this level of pollution in Kathmandu in the past,” Khadka told Reuters.

People must stay safe indoors and not come out except for emergencies, the health ministry said.

Officials at Nepal’s only international airport in Kathmandu said poor visibility, which was down to 1,000 metres on Monday, widely disrupted flights.

from World,Europe,Asia,India,Pakistan,Philipines,Oceania,Americas,Africa Feed https://ift.tt/39tCTs2

Newlywed suicide bombers identified in Indonesia church attack

Jakarta: Two suicide bombers who attacked an Indonesian cathedral on Palm Sunday were newlyweds who joined a pro-Daesh, police said Monday, as they arrested others suspected in the plot.

About 20 people were wounded in the powerful explosion outside the church in Makassar city on Sulawesi island while worshippers celebrated the start of Holy Week.

Both suspects were killed instantly after they rode a motorbike into the church compound and, when challenged by security, detonated a bomb packed with nails, police said.

They were the only fatalities.

About 15 victims remained in hospital Monday, with two in intensive care for burn injuries. Four have been discharged.

On Monday, Indonesian authorities said the pair, identified through DNA and fingerprint testing, had been married for about six months.

The male suspect, who was in his mid-twenties, left his family a suicide note that said he was ready to die as a martyr.

The couple belonged to an Islamic study group along with several of nine other suspects arrested since Sunday over their alleged roles in the attack, police said.

“They each had their own role, including buying the ingredients, teaching bomb making, creating the explosives and using them,” National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told reporters.

Raids at several locations including at the couple’s home in Makassar and others in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta turned up a cache of powerful explosives and bomb-making ingredients, authorities said.

Sunday’s attack came after the arrest of dozens of suspected militants in recent months by Indonesia’s counter-terror squad.

A Makassar resident said the male bomber was a street food seller who lived in a rented house near his parents’ home.

“He was nice as a kid... but when he got older he didn’t really socialise around here,” Nuraini, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.

Police said the couple were members of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an extremist group blamed for series of attacks, including 2018 suicide bombings at churches in Indonesia’s second-biggest city Surabaya, which killed a dozen congregants.

Sunday’s explosion at the main Catholic cathedral in Makassar happened just after congregants finished celebrating Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, which commemorates Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem.

It comes a week before Easter.

JAD was also implicated in a 2019 cathedral suicide bombing in the Philippines committed by a married Indonesian couple. That attack killed worshippers and security forces.

Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim majority nation, has long struggled with attacks by Islamist extremists, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed more than 200, mostly foreign tourists.

from World,Europe,Asia,India,Pakistan,Philipines,Oceania,Americas,Africa Feed https://ift.tt/3fiIENc

COVID-19: England embarks on major easing of lockdown

London: It’s being dubbed Happy Monday.

England is embarking on a major easing of its latest coronavirus lockdown that came into force at the start of the year, with families and friends able to meet up in outdoor spaces and many sports permitted once again.

And, as if right on cue, the weather is turning, with temperatures rising to levels more akin to southern Spain at this time of year.

Under Monday’s easing, groups of up to six, or two households, can socialize in parks and gardens once more, while outdoor sports facilities can reopen after the stark stay-at-home order, which has seen new coronavirus cases fall dramatically over the past three months, officially ended.

Outdoor sport

After months of being cooped up at home, many people are relishing the prospect of being able to to enjoy their outdoor sport of choice, from tennis to open-air swimming. Organized team sports, such as children’s football clubs, can start up again too.

One of the first - if not the first - to re-open its doors on Monday was the Morley Hayes Golf Club, near Derby in central England, with players teeing off at 12:01 a.m. for a seven-hole floodlit charity tournament.

The other parts of the U.K. -Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - are taking broadly similar steps. In Wales, thousands of people poured onto beaches and mountain spots on Saturday, after the authorities lifted travel restrictions that have been in place since December.

Many aspects of England’s lockdown remains in place with the British government stressing that it’s taking a cautious approach to lifting the restrictions. Most nonessential businesses remain closed, along with pubs, restaurants, gyms, cinemas, theaters, museums and sports stadiums. And the government continues to urge people to work at home where they can.

The U.K. has recorded more than 126,000 COVID-19 deaths, the highest toll in Europe. Deaths have decreased sharply over the past few weeks as the number of people contracting the virus has fallen dramatically during the lockdown and the rapid rollout of coronavirus vaccines. On Sunday, the U.K. recorded 3,872 new cases, the lowest daily figure in six months.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the public to remain cautious and not to mix indoors. A public information campaign is launching warnings against the dangers of gathering indoors,

Stick to rules

“Despite today’s easements, everyone must continue to stick to the rules, remember `hands, face, space,’ and come forward for a vaccine when called,” he said.

Johnson said he hopes the easing will “kick-start a Great British summer of sport” as sports stars teamed up with the government to encourage a return to physical activity.

Restrictions have been eased as official figures showed more than 30 million people in the U.K. have received a first vaccine dose, accounting for about 57% of all adults.

The U.K. is aiming to give everyone over the age of 18 a first jab by July, with second shots delivered within 12 weeks of the first.

Health officials say the program will slow down in April because of a squeeze on supplies, in part because of a delayed order from India. The European Union has also threatened to block shipments of vaccines from factories in the bloc unless drugmakers - notably Anglo-Swedish firm AstraZeneca - send more shots to EU nations.

from World,Europe,Asia,India,Pakistan,Philipines,Oceania,Americas,Africa Feed https://ift.tt/3m4fylW

PIA flight attendant hailed a hero for calming crying baby

Islamabad: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendant is being praised after he went above and beyond the call of duty to soothe a crying baby on a flight.

Touheed Ahmad Daudpota was on the PK-301 flight from Islamabad to Karachi on March 11 when he noticed a mother having a hard time calming her baby. He immediately stepped in to comfort the tot and give the stressed mother a break. This little act of kindness turned Daudpota into a national hero as his photo of the feel-good moment went viral.

Daudpota was hailed as a hero on social media, earning widespread praise. This week, the UN Women Pakistan declared him a HeForShe Champion “for displaying empathy, gender sensitivity, respect and care” to a woman passenger. “A small act of kindness indeed goes a long way!” wrote UN Women Pakistan on social media, introducing their new HeforShe Champion, Touheed Daudpota, to the world.

UN Women Pakistan medal

A video shared by PIA showed him being honoured with the UN Women Pakistan medal by deputy country representative Jacqui Ketunuti. “Touheed Daudpota is upholding [PIA’s] long traditions of ‘‪Great People to Fly With’” PIA’s official account said.

The heart-warming sight was first shared on Twitter with this caption: “Now that truly is great people to fly with” – the slogan of Pakistan’s national flag carrier.

Sobbing baby

Daudpota, who hails from Shikarpur town in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, said that he decided to help the passenger out after two women cabin crew members could not calm down the sobbing baby. “The woman was flying alone with two kids and looked really exhausted. So I offered help to soothe the crying toddler” the flight purser said.

“I had no idea someone would take photos and share it on social media that later earned me the UN recognition,” Touheed Daudpota shared during a TV interview. “Flying with toddlers can be stressful. I helped the passenger as any crew member would do to make sure everyone has a safe and comfortable flight.”

Elated by the recognition, the crew member who has been a PIA employee for 34 years, hopes that his act of kindness would encourage more men to get involved in parenting. Although mothers take greater responsibility in childcare but “both mother and father must equally be involved in taking care of their children” he said.

from World,Europe,Asia,India,Pakistan,Philipines,Oceania,Americas,Africa Feed https://ift.tt/31qJNKA